Birth date: January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945Political Party: Democrat
Terms in office(3): March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945Vice Presidents: John Garner: 1933-194Henry Wallace: 1941-1945Harry Truman: 1945 (who took his place as president once Roosevelt died during his third term in office)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the thirty-second president of the United States, and is often referred to by his initials: FDR. His terms in office were unusual due to the fact that he was the only president that served more than two terms. He is known for being a distant cousin of former president, Theodore Roosevelt, but even more, he is known for his large part in formulating the first and second New Deal, ending the Great Depression, appointing of supportive cabinet members, and expanding the size of the federal government. Although he had negative parts of his time in office, such as his lack to understand and research the severity of the Holocaust, his idea of Japanese internment camps, and his "court-packing plan," his positives greatly outweigh his negatives and for this, Roosevelt deserves an "A" for his terms in office.
During Roosevelt's terms in office, his most sought after goals included to remain as isolationistic as possible during the early stages of World War II, and to end the infamous Great Depression. Roosevelt's goals were accomplished rather well, although some may argue that Roosevelt did not truly remain isolated during any part of the war. Once news of Hitler's regime was received in the United States, Roosevelt took the approach of wanting to remain completely isolated from issues abroad and focus solely on domestic issues. His first act of isolationism came with the failed London Conference. The London Conference was first meant to meet in 1933, to address global depression by coordinating an international attack. Roosevelt had originally agreed to send a representative, but withdrew last minute to pursue American economic recovery as opposed to global recovery. This decision sparked not only nationalism, but also, the beginnings of American isolationism. Then, in 1934 with the Tydings-McDuffle Act, America (tired of paying to support the Philippines) agreed to grant the Philippines their freedom by 1946. The Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, and 1937not only proclaimed the existence of a war, but they further pushed America into remaining isolated and neutral. The acts stated that first, no american could sail on a belligerent ship; second, no one could sell or transport munitions to a belligerent ship; and finally third, no one could make loans to a belligerent. The water got rough though in 1940 when America, against aggressive dictators, agreed to the Destroyer Deal with Britain. The Destroyer Deal was comprised of the United States transferring fifty old model destroyers in exchange for eight defensive base sites located in England. Succeeding the Destroyer Deal was the Lend Lease Act in 1941, which was a reaction to attacks on American ships. The Lend Lease Act encompassed the United States providing an unlimited number of arms to Britain as long as they did their part in the war and kept it away from America. While during both the Destroyer Deal, and the Lend Lease Act, America claimed to remain neutral, to Germany and Japan they seemed like economic declarations of war and abandoned any pretense of neutrality. Thus, by the 1940s, America's goal to remain isolated and neutral failed. FDR's next goal was to abolish the Great Depression the country was in. His first 99 days as president were perhaps some of his most important and resulted in the first and second "New Deal." The goal of the first "New Deal," through the idea of the three R's: relief, recovery, reform, was to provide relief to the unemployed, agriculture, and business and to those close to losing their farms and homes . When the first "New Deal" failed, Roosevelt and congress went ahead with a second "New Deal." Together, both new deal were composed of the TVA, Social Security Act, WPA, PWA, NRA, FDIC, FHA, and the SEC among many others. Both deals were meant to provide jobs, money, and immediate as well as long term relief to America. While they did not end the Great Depression, they lessened the suffering of many Americans. The actual end of the Great Depression came when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor unsuspectingly on December 7, 1941. Once America was attacked, Franklin Roosevelt declared war, and with the war came many new jobs and a massive growth in industry. With all of the production, America was pulled out of the depression, and Roosevelt accomplished his goal.
FDR had a great relationship with congress in the beginning, and a good relationship towards the end. Most of this was due to the fact that he was exceptional at appointing cabinet members, and both parties in congress were a majority Democrat, who would give Franklin anything he asked of them. During Roosevelt's first 99 days, Congress passed nearly everything that was put in front of them. However, this soon ended when the Supreme Court, dominated by Republicans, put down many of FDR's new deal laws. Afraid that the court was ruining his success in Congress, Roosevelt attempted to pass the court-packing plan. The court-packing plan was a proposal to force retirement on any Supreme Court Judge over a certain age. Just by this, three of the justices would have to retire. The second part was to expand the court from nine to twelve judges, this way Roosevelt could nominate judges that would support his legislation. FDR was then criticized by many, including congress, for trying to control the Supreme Court. After his failure of passing the law, Franklin was not given such power in the new deal legislation and reminded America that law and politics needed to be separate.
During Franklin's presidency, his most positive outcome had to be the ending of the Great Depression, and the beginning of entering World War I. America was at its' highest unemployment rate in history around 20-25%, and it seemed to be getting worse. Although America did not want to enter the war, the war is what saved them. Once FDR's many attempts at ending the Great Depression failed, the war was the last thing on his mind since he was trying to come up with another way to pick up the economy. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States had no choice but to enter the war, which picked up mass production and factory jobs. The war employed millions of Americans and got them off the streets and back into factories. Even women began to play a vital role in the job industry and left the house to take over the jobs that men had left to fight in the war. Their jobs included nurses as well as ship, aircraft, and weaponry builders, and factory, plant, and farm operators.
Roosevelt's most positive impact was his most important; however, during his most positive was also his most negative. Right after Pearl Harbor, Congress and FDR decided to move all Japanese-Americans into internment camps, afraid of Japan following through with a full-scale attack on the west coast. While the internment camp conditions were not as bad as German concentration camps, they served under the same principle: to segregate a race from the rest of society. Many argue that the camps were more on racially motivated than military- as the government had claimed. The internment camps are looked at as hypocrisy due to the fact that America was doing the same thing we were fighting against in Germany. It was a sad time in American history, and in 1988 President Reagan and congress passed legislation apologizing for the camps. They stated that the actions were based on race prejudice, war hysteria, and poor leadership. The government then gave nearly two billion to Japanese-Americans in reparations. Along with the WWII era, came the lack of knowledge of the holocaust. Roosevelt knew that Hitler was slaughtering Jews by the thousands, but he did not take the time to really look into the issue at hand. Although through the War Refugee Board, Roosevelt was able to rescue 200,000 Jews, if he had acted earlier he could have saved many, many more. He was very side-tracked by issues going on in America, and did not look farther into the concentration camps. While he did save many, help almost came too late.
FDR is the only president known to exceed the two-term presidential limit. Before his presidency, it was an "unwritten rule" to not go past two-terms, so Roosevelt was completely legal at the time. However, in 1947, Congress set w two-term limit with the twenty-second amendment to the constitution. Congress feared the exceeding a two-term limit was entering dictator territory, and being right after the U.S. entered WWII, wanted to do everything in their power to stray away from anything close to a dictatorship. By setting this law, it prevents a president from serving more than eight years in office. The twenty-second amendment impacts America and future generations the most due to the fact that every president since FDR cannot serve longer than two-terms. If Roosevelt had not served that length of time, the amendment may never have been made.
Throughout Franklin Delano Roosevelt's terms in president, he certainly changed America. Although he had two downfalls, including the Japanese internment camps, and the lack of knowledge with the Holocaust, his positives left a much heavier impact on society. Through his formulation of the new deal legislation, end of the great depression, expansion of government, and appointment of cabinet members, FDR proved to be a very influential, successful, and great American president. For the sole reason that he ended the great depression alone, Roosevelt was a good president; but his constant care for America and his achievement of bettering America after his presidency, Franklin Roosevelt deserves an "A" for his terms in office.
Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, Thomas Andrew Bailey, and Thomas Andrew Bailey. The American Pageant: a History of the Republic. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Print.
Birth date: January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945Political Party: Democrat
Terms in office(3): March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945 Vice Presidents: John Garner: 1933-194Henry Wallace: 1941-1945Harry Truman: 1945 (who took his place as president once Roosevelt died during his third term in office)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the thirty-second president of the United States, and is often referred to by his initials: FDR. His terms in office were unusual due to the fact that he was the only president that served more than two terms. He is known for being a distant cousin of former president, Theodore Roosevelt, but even more, he is known for his large part in formulating the first and second New Deal, ending the Great Depression, appointing of supportive cabinet members, and expanding the size of the federal government. Although he had negative parts of his time in office, such as his lack to understand and research the severity of the Holocaust, his idea of Japanese internment camps, and his "court-packing plan," his positives greatly outweigh his negatives and for this, Roosevelt deserves an "A" for his terms in office.
During Roosevelt's terms in office, his most sought after goals included to remain as isolationistic as possible during the early stages of World War II, and to end the infamous Great Depression. Roosevelt's goals were accomplished rather well, although some may argue that Roosevelt did not truly remain isolated during any part of the war. Once news of Hitler's regime was received in the United States, Roosevelt took the approach of wanting to remain completely isolated from issues abroad and focus solely on domestic issues. His first act of isolationism came with the failed London Conference. The London Conference was first meant to meet in 1933, to address global depression by coordinating an international attack. Roosevelt had originally agreed to send a representative, but withdrew last minute to pursue American economic recovery as opposed to global recovery. This decision sparked not only nationalism, but also, the beginnings of American isolationism. Then, in 1934 with the Tydings-McDuffle Act, America (tired of paying to support the Philippines) agreed to grant the Philippines their freedom by 1946. The Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, and 1937not only proclaimed the existence of a war, but they further pushed America into remaining isolated and neutral. The acts stated that first, no american could sail on a belligerent ship; second, no one could sell or transport munitions to a belligerent ship; and finally third, no one could make loans to a belligerent. The water got rough though in 1940 when America, against aggressive dictators, agreed to the Destroyer Deal with Britain. The Destroyer Deal was comprised of the United States transferring fifty old model destroyers in exchange for eight defensive base sites located in England. Succeeding the Destroyer Deal was the Lend Lease Act in 1941, which was a reaction to attacks on American ships. The Lend Lease Act encompassed the United States providing an unlimited number of arms to Britain as long as they did their part in the war and kept it away from America. While during both the Destroyer Deal, and the Lend Lease Act, America claimed to remain neutral, to Germany and Japan they seemed like economic declarations of war and abandoned any pretense of neutrality. Thus, by the 1940s, America's goal to remain isolated and neutral failed. FDR's next goal was to abolish the Great Depression the country was in. His first 99 days as president were perhaps some of his most important and resulted in the first and second "New Deal." The goal of the first "New Deal," through the idea of the three R's: relief, recovery, reform, was to provide relief to the unemployed, agriculture, and business and to those close to losing their farms and homes . When the first "New Deal" failed, Roosevelt and congress went ahead with a second "New Deal." Together, both new deal were composed of the TVA, Social Security Act, WPA, PWA, NRA, FDIC, FHA, and the SEC among many others. Both deals were meant to provide jobs, money, and immediate as well as long term relief to America. While they did not end the Great Depression, they lessened the suffering of many Americans. The actual end of the Great Depression came when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor unsuspectingly on December 7, 1941. Once America was attacked, Franklin Roosevelt declared war, and with the war came many new jobs and a massive growth in industry. With all of the production, America was pulled out of the depression, and Roosevelt accomplished his goal.
FDR had a great relationship with congress in the beginning, and a good relationship towards the end. Most of this was due to the fact that he was exceptional at appointing cabinet members, and both parties in congress were a majority Democrat, who would give Franklin anything he asked of them. During Roosevelt's first 99 days, Congress passed nearly everything that was put in front of them. However, this soon ended when the Supreme Court, dominated by Republicans, put down many of FDR's new deal laws. Afraid that the court was ruining his success in Congress, Roosevelt attempted to pass the court-packing plan. The court-packing plan was a proposal to force retirement on any Supreme Court Judge over a certain age. Just by this, three of the justices would have to retire. The second part was to expand the court from nine to twelve judges, this way Roosevelt could nominate judges that would support his legislation. FDR was then criticized by many, including congress, for trying to control the Supreme Court. After his failure of passing the law, Franklin was not given such power in the new deal legislation and reminded America that law and politics needed to be separate.
During Franklin's presidency, his most positive outcome had to be the ending of the Great Depression, and the beginning of entering World War I. America was at its' highest unemployment rate in history around 20-25%, and it seemed to be getting worse. Although America did not want to enter the war, the war is what saved them. Once FDR's many attempts at ending the Great Depression failed, the war was the last thing on his mind since he was trying to come up with another way to pick up the economy. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States had no choice but to enter the war, which picked up mass production and factory jobs. The war employed millions of Americans and got them off the streets and back into factories. Even women began to play a vital role in the job industry and left the house to take over the jobs that men had left to fight in the war. Their jobs included nurses as well as ship, aircraft, and weaponry builders, and factory, plant, and farm operators.
Roosevelt's most positive impact was his most important; however, during his most positive was also his most negative. Right after Pearl Harbor, Congress and FDR decided to move all Japanese-Americans into internment camps, afraid of Japan following through with a full-scale attack on the west coast. While the internment camp conditions were not as bad as German concentration camps, they served under the same principle: to segregate a race from the rest of society. Many argue that the camps were more on racially motivated than military- as the government had claimed. The internment camps are looked at as hypocrisy due to the fact that America was doing the same thing we were fighting against in Germany. It was a sad time in American history, and in 1988 President Reagan and congress passed legislation apologizing for the camps. They stated that the actions were based on race prejudice, war hysteria, and poor leadership. The government then gave nearly two billion to Japanese-Americans in reparations. Along with the WWII era, came the lack of knowledge of the holocaust. Roosevelt knew that Hitler was slaughtering Jews by the thousands, but he did not take the time to really look into the issue at hand. Although through the War Refugee Board, Roosevelt was able to rescue 200,000 Jews, if he had acted earlier he could have saved many, many more. He was very side-tracked by issues going on in America, and did not look farther into the concentration camps. While he did save many, help almost came too late.
FDR is the only president known to exceed the two-term presidential limit. Before his presidency, it was an "unwritten rule" to not go past two-terms, so Roosevelt was completely legal at the time. However, in 1947, Congress set w two-term limit with the twenty-second amendment to the constitution. Congress feared the exceeding a two-term limit was entering dictator territory, and being right after the U.S. entered WWII, wanted to do everything in their power to stray away from anything close to a dictatorship. By setting this law, it prevents a president from serving more than eight years in office. The twenty-second amendment impacts America and future generations the most due to the fact that every president since FDR cannot serve longer than two-terms. If Roosevelt had not served that length of time, the amendment may never have been made.
Throughout Franklin Delano Roosevelt's terms in president, he certainly changed America. Although he had two downfalls, including the Japanese internment camps, and the lack of knowledge with the Holocaust, his positives left a much heavier impact on society. Through his formulation of the new deal legislation, end of the great depression, expansion of government, and appointment of cabinet members, FDR proved to be a very influential, successful, and great American president. For the sole reason that he ended the great depression alone, Roosevelt was a good president; but his constant care for America and his achievement of bettering America after his presidency, Franklin Roosevelt deserves an "A" for his terms in office.
Works Cited:
"Amendment XXII - Two Term Limit on President - Lawyers.com." Research Attorney, Lawyer, Attorneys, Lawyers and Legal Research Information - Lawyers.com. Web. 17 May 2010. <http://research.lawyers.com/Amendment-XXII---Two-Term-Limit-on-President.html>.
"FDR and the New Deal." Essortment Articles: Free Online Articles on Health, Science, Education & More.. Web. 17 May 2010. <http://www.essortment.com/all/fdrnewdealfra_rgst.htm>.
Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, Thomas Andrew Bailey, and Thomas Andrew Bailey. The American Pageant: a History of the Republic. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Print.
"Saving the Jews: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Holocaust - The Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies." Grand Valley State University. Web. 17 May 2010. <http://main.gvsu.edu/hauenstein/?id=1DD53F35-0653-1CF4-3F7734ACC7C9A95D>.